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Smartwatch predicts seizures

This is not just any smartwatch – it can spot the warning signs of an epileptic seizure. Called Embrace, it measures the skin’s electrical activity – a proxy for changes deep in the brain – and uses a computer model to predict if a seizure is about to occur. When Embrace detects the warning signs, it sends a message to the wearer’s friends or family. Its developer, Empatica, launched a crowdfunding campaign last week and has so far raised more than &dollar;140,000.

“The development and operation of this malware would have required a significant investment of time and resources, indicating that a nation state is responsible”

Security firm Symantec on the discovery this week of the Regin virus that has spied on governments and businesses since 2008

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Your shirt knows when you’re thirsty

Listen to your shirt. Smart clothing could warn its wearers when they need a drink. Xsensio, based in Switzerland, is developing textiles that look for signs of dehydration by measuring body temperature, sweat and skin conductance. Sensors also take air temperature and humidity into account. As a person becomes weary and thirsty, the shirt will send alerts reminding them to drink – useful for sporty types.

Employment tracked via tweets

Add job status to the list of things your Twitter account gives away. Alejandro Llorente at the Autonomous University of Madrid and colleagues examined 145 million tweets sent across Spain. Tweeters in regions with higher unemployment were more likely to misspell words, less likely to post in the morning and less likely to talk to people living in places with high employment levels (arxiv.org/abs/1411.3140v1). These markers could be used to understand the effect of policies on the economic status of cities, the team says.